The Phoenix to rise again amid downtown growth
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The Phoenix's return is welcome happening for Amber Hiltz and the numerous people who've held events there over the decades. Photo: Courtesy of Amber Hiltz
The Phoenix, an 1893 landmark building at Eighth and Race streets, will be reborn next year as another downtown event venue.
Why it matters: Cincinnati is developing its first comprehensive downtown plan in nearly 40 years and the Phoenix's return is part of a larger question about what downtown's next chapter looks like.
- It joins other major projects reshaping the urban core, including the planned Fort Washington Way caps and continued redevelopment around the Convention District.
State of play: The Phoenix last operated as an event space in 2023.
- The closure followed the pandemic shutdown and years of disinvestment around Garfield Place and that stretch of Race Street, which had become something of a dead zone.
The latest: Cincinnati-based event space operator DelightMore has signed a 10-year lease to operate about 27,000 square feet.
Why the Phoenix: Cincinnati architect Samuel Hannaford designed the building, which originally housed the Phoenix Club, a social organization founded by Cincinnati's German Jewish community.
- It later became home to the Cincinnati Club before becoming a restaurant and banquet venue.
- DelightMore CEO Don Vonderhaar says the building's Italian Renaissance architecture and vaulted ballroom will remain central to the experience.
Zoom in: Other renovations are largely cosmetic, including restroom updates, carpet removal and hardwood floor installation.
- The President's Room will become a private dining space instead of reopening as a public restaurant or bar.
What they're saying: Amber Hiltz, who married Drew Cook there in 2020, says they chose the Phoenix for its character, namely the grand marble staircase in the entryway.
- "The Phoenix is such a beautiful venue, so we were really sad to hear that it was closing," Hiltz says. "So we're glad it's getting a new life."
The bigger picture: Vonderhaar says downtown momentum helped make the Phoenix's location appealing.
- That includes new hotels such as the Fidelity Hotel, the planned 700-room Marriott convention center hotel and the new-look First Financial Center.
Adding new spaces and activity strengthens downtown's walkability and better connects the neighborhood from The Banks through Over-the-Rhine, Chase Mosijowsky, vice president of the Cincinnati Downtown Residents Council, tells Axios.
What's next: DelightMore is targeting a first-quarter 2027 opening, though there is no confirmed date. Three weddings are already booked.
- "I'm just excited to bring it back to life," Vonderhaar says.